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Breaking the Ice (episode)
The Enterprise discovers the biggest comet ever seen by Man or Vulcan and decides to investigate. A Vulcan ship observes, and T'Pol receives an encoded message from them which Tucker intercepts and reads. There are complications, and eventually Captain Archer breaks the Human stereotype Vulcans have for Humans and accepts their help. Summary ''Enterprise'' discovers the biggest comet ever observed by Humans (or Vulcans). An away team consisting of Malcolm Reed and Travis Mayweather is sent to collect samples, as the comet is found to contain a rare substance under the surface. Meanwhile on Enterprise, Trip Tucker discovers that T'Pol has received secret encrypted transmissions from a nearby Vulcan ship, and is suspicious. With Hoshi Sato's help, he discovers the personal nature of the message (concerning, as he later discovers, T'Pol's marriage arrangements), and informs Captain Archer that the message was a letter and that it was a very private matter. Archer does not ask Tucker to reveal its contents. A recording to some Earth children, who go to a school in Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland, is dispatched, containing comments about ongoing events on Enterprise and answers to the many questions the popular crew previously received. Tucker is extremely uncertain about answering a "poop question", as he is worried that he will be assumed to be a sanitation engineer. Tucker apologizes to T'Pol for reading the letter. The impending marriage is causing some concern for T'Pol, since she would have to leave Enterprise immediately and remain away for at least one Vulcan year. At Phlox's suggestion, she agrees to discuss it with Tucker, to prevent her secret from spreading. The cultural gap makes the conversation difficult, resulting in each person only promoting their own culture and way of seeing things. Also, there is a tentative effort by Captain Archer to make things clear between him and the captain of the Vulcan ship following Enterprise, as Archer invites the Vulcan captain to dinner aboard Enterprise. He is not successful; he is only able to prove to the Vulcans that Human stereotypes seem to be right. Archer concludes the meal by accusing the Vulcan captain of spying on Enterprise. Archer notes that an explosion triggered on the surface of the comet by the away team has altered the comet's axis of rotation. This will mean that they would eventually come into direct sunlight. However, they continue to collect core samples. The conclusion eases the cultural tensions between the Humans and Vulcans. As the away team runs into complications, Archer sacrifices his pride in Human independence for the good of the imperiled survey, letting the Vulcans help with their tractor beam. Also, T'Pol chooses to reconsider her marriage, showing that her discussion with Tucker wasn't as fruitless as it first seemed. Memorable Quotes "Once he realizes we're not going to blow up the galaxy maybe he'll leave us alone." : - Archer "It might not be good for the body... But it sure is good for the soul." : - Tucker, defending his favorite dessert – pecan pie – to T'Pol "A POOP question, SIR?!" : - Tucker "You are human. You are free to choose." : - T'Pol, trying to convince Archer to ask the Vulcans for help "If Vanik's the kind of guy who likes to watch... let him." : - Archer Background information *This episode features the Ti'Mur, the first major Vulcan High Command starship seen in all of Star Trek. *Koss, who will later appear in , , and , is first mentioned in this episode. *This episode effectively begins the T'Pol/Tucker personal relationship, and its title is thus a . It is the first time Tucker enters T'Pol's quarters, and the first time she shares personal information with him. The pecan pie she has in her quarters at the end of the story is also the first time T'Pol is seen to eat unambiguously Human food for her own enjoyment. It is noteworthy that she signals her personal rebellion from Vulcan tradition with one of Tucker's favorite desserts. *This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for its visual effects, but it lost out to the pilot episode, . *This is the first episode of Enterprise which did not have Rick Berman or Brannon Braga writing the episode or its story. Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 1.4, . *As part of the ENT Season 1 DVD collection. Links and references Starring *Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer *John Billingsley as Doctor Phlox *Jolene Blalock as Subcommander T'Pol *Dominic Keating as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed *Anthony Montgomery as Ensign Travis Mayweather *Linda Park as Ensign Hoshi Sato *Connor Trinneer as Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III Guest Star *William Utay as Vanik Uncredited Co-Stars *Adam Anello as an operations division crewman *Solomon Burke, Jr. as Billy *Amy Kate Connolly as a science division crewman *Mark Correy as Alex *Martin Ko as a command division ensign *Marlene Mogavero as an operations division crewman *Bobby Pappas as an operations division crewman *Thelma Tyrell as an operations division crewman *Cynthia Uhrich as an operations division crewman *John Wan as an operations division crewman *Mark Watson as an operations division crewman References Archer's Comet; bio-matter resequencer; Brennan, Liam; caffeine; Chef; comet; County Kerry; dark-matter nebula; Denobula Triaxa system; Denobulans; drill bit; drilling rig; Eisillium; EV suit; "First Contact (art)"; Gaby; germs; grappler; green tea; Haley (student); Ireland; Kenmare; Kimball; Koss; magnesite; Malvin; ; McCook, Molly; Miles, Geoff; milk; O'Shannon, Chloe; peanut butter sandwich; pecan pie; planetary nebula; plasma torch; pok tar; Polycocyx astris; poop; protein resequencer; sanitation engineer; sculptor; snow; ; Ti'Mur; toilet; Tok; tractor beam; turkey; universal translator; Vanik; Vulcans; Vulcan database; Vulcan Space Program; Vulcan survey ship; water; Witty, Gabrielle; Worley Elementary School; Yarahla; Zariphean tea |next= }} cs:Breaking The Ice de:Das Eis bricht es:Breaking the Ice fr:Breaking the Ice nl:Breaking the Ice pl:Breaking the Ice sv:Breaking the Ice Category:ENT episodes